Paris (AFP)
The reopening of the Eiffel Tower, scheduled for December 16, is finally postponed "until further notice", announced the famous monument Friday, the day after the announcement of a more gradual deconfinement than hoped for.
"Our visitors who have purchased tickets in advance for visits between December 16 and January 6, 2021 will be reimbursed at the beginning of next week", it is specified on the Twitter account of the tower.
The Eiffel Tower has been closed since October 30 due to containment against the Covid-19 epidemic.
It was to reopen on December 16, once the lockdown is lifted, but the government announced Thursday that the lifting of the restrictions would be more gradual than expected, with in particular museums, theaters and cinemas that will remain closed for three more weeks.
Hit by the health crisis, attendance at the Eiffel Tower fell by around 80% compared to 2019 and its turnover by 70%, the Eiffel Tower Operating Company (Sete) indicated at the end of October.
Before the reconfinement, the Eiffel Tower only received "2,500 visitors per day for a monument capable of accommodating up to 25,000", according to Jean-François Martins, president of Sete, even if the start of the All Saints holidays had allowed a slight rise.
At issue: the restrictive measures accompanying the health crisis.
Social distancing means that the tower elevators are only half-filled, and the curfew that preceded the re-containment had prevented the usual midnight closure on weekends.
The absence of tourists had widened the drop in attendance, the monument normally welcoming "80 to 85%" of foreign visitors according to Sete.
© 2020 AFP